ESPN last night saw another drop for its "MNF" telecast from 8:15-11:45pm ET. A noncompetitive game -- the Cardinals beat the Jets 28-3 -- led to the lowest overnight rating for a Week 6 "MNF" telecast on record. The 6.3 overnight also was down 34% from a 9.6 for the Eagles' 27-7 win over the Giants last year, when ESPN also rolled out a new trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Jets-Cardinals also was down from an 8.6 overnight for 49ers-Rams in '14 and an 8.7 for Colts-Chargers in '13. The game last night peaked at a 7.7 rating from 9:45-10:00pm. Despite the record-low figure, ESPN is still likely to win primetime among all nets. Phoenix led all markets with a 20.9 local rating for the game (14.4 on ESPN, 15.8 on KUTP-Ind.). N.Y. drew a 9.9 local rating (6.9 on ESPN, 3.0 on WWOR-Ind.) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
HONEST BROKER: ESPN’s Sean McDonough last night addressed the NFL's falling ratings this year, saying if fans are "looking for reasons why TV ratings are down in the NFL all over the place, this doesn’t help the way this game has been officiated." He said, "It’s not something anybody wants to watch.” A total of 23 penalties were called in last night's game (“MNF,” ESPN, 10/17). The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre wrote, "Last announcer to blast a league, ratings and officiating like this? Sean McDonough has brass ones." The Des Moines Register's Danny Lawhon: "Sean McDonough absolutely eviscerating NFL officiating and the overall product on air. Pac-12 Networks' Drew Shiller: "Sean McDonough not holding back on Monday Night Football." SI.com's Richard Deitsch: "Sean McDonough is a terrific broadcaster and that was a moment of honesty."
TALK OF THE TOWN: In Buffalo, Alan Pergament notes the Bills' fourth straight victory on Sunday "had a lower rating" than their two previous games. The 38.4 local rating for the game against the 49ers on WUTV-Fox was lower than the 41.3 for the win over the Rams on Oct. 9 and the 39.7 for the win over the Patriots on Oct. 2 (BUFFALO NEWS, 10/18). Nashville-based WTVF-CBS Program & Research Dir Mark Binda said that Alabama-Tennessee on Saturday afternoon (CBS) was the "most-watched sports event on television in the local market over the weekend" with a 25.7 local rating, beating out WTVF-CBS' 22.8 rating on Sunday for Titans-Browns. That marked the "fourth time this season" a UT game "posted a higher rating than a Titans game" in the Nashville market (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 10/18).
THEY SUPERIMPOSED ME! In St. Paul, Jaime Delage notes in an on-screen graphic promoting next weekend’s games, Fox on Sunday "featured action photos" of Vikings QB Sam Bradford and Eagles QB Carson Wentz "grasping footballs, ready to pass." But Vikings fans "noticed a couple of things out of place with Bradford’s grasp: the gloves on his two hands." The gloves are a "trademark" of injured Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater. The Vikings tweeted at the @NFLonFox account, saying, "Have your people contact our people. We'll get you a photo" (ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS, 10/18).
